Sterling Brown (right) of the Milwaukee Bucks during a game against the Washington Wizards on Jan. 15, 2018, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons

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WUWM's Teran Powell reports on the firing of one Milwaukee Police officer who was involved in the arrest of Bucks' Sterling Brown.

One of the officers who was present at the January tasing and arrest of Sterling Brown of the Milwaukee Bucks has been fired, Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales announced on Thursday.

But it wasn't the officer’s role in the arrest that led to his termination. It was his actions on social media afterward.

Morales said he struggled with having to fire the officer — calling it “unfortunate,” but he said there’s a bigger picture. “For me, one of the most important functions of a police officer is to be able to testify in court, and if you can’t testify in court, that’s one of the functions I can’t utilize you,” Morales said.

He added that if the officer was to be called to testify in the Brown case, he doesn’t want that officer’s social media activities to bring the officer’s credibility into question.

“It’ll be a circus by putting this person on the stand, and they’re going to make a circus of the court every time this subject gets on the stand based on what was said.”

While Morales didn't share the officer’s name or specific social media posts, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the officer under investigation for social media posts was Erik Andrade. Reports say posts included comments like, “Nice meeting Sterling Brown of the Milwaukee Bucks at work this morning! #FeartheDeer.”

Morales said that the social media rules for the Milwaukee Police Department are clear: “In law enforcement, social media has adversely affected our private lives and the policy is explicit on your social media actions," he explained. "What’s important about that is if you bring our department into your social media communication, you’re going to have to answer for it.”

Andrade and several other officers were disciplined following the Brown tasing and arrest, but Andrade is the only who's been fired.

During the January incident, officers confronted Brown in a Walgreen’s parking lot on the Milwaukee's south side for double parking in a handicapped spot. After multiple officers arrived on the scene, and heated conversation, Brown was ultimately tased and arrested – he was not charged.

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Almost two weeks ago, the Milwaukee Police Department released the highly anticipated video footage of the altercation between several officers and the Milwaukee Bucks rookie. Police confronted Brown, after noticing his car parked across two handicapped spaces at a Walgreens on the city’s south side.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown is accusing Milwaukee police officers of discriminating against him because he is black when they used a stun gun last winter during his arrest for a parking violation.

A lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday says officers could have simply issued a citation instead of "unlawfully discriminating against Mr. Brown on the basis of his race."

Officers detained Brown at about 2 a.m. on Jan. 26 outside a Walgreens store on Milwaukee's south side. He was apparently double parked in a disabled spot.

Milwaukee Public Media is a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science